EU - no software patent

The European Parliament rejected (648-14 with 18 abstentions) the so-called software patent directive supported by big software firms and opposed by the open source community. Those supporting the directive claimed that it would have encouraged research spending and helped defend European inventions from US competition. The smaller companies asserted that copyright laws already protect their inventions and feared that the patenting would have increased their legal costs.

Hat tip to Joe of the Pinehurst Thread for the Techworld link.